Second Thoughts
by Cati
Summary: A girl in desperate need of money agrees to steal an amulet, only to find that if she goes through with it she, her pets, and two others will be killed. VERY unfinished. :P Third chapter up!
1. Default Chapter

Untitled Document

Author's Note- Ok, this is my first time posting anything and the only story I've ever let anyone see. No doubt the instant I submit it I'll realize I did something extremely stupid and I need to change the whole damn thing, but anyway. Title and last names will probably change, but the first names are here to stay. I don't own Neopets, although I do have three or four accounts there. The characters, however, are mine, although I may not have the pets with those names. Or Zoe's name as an account.

"Yes. I understand. Goodbye." Zoe said, trying not let the sadness she felt show in her voice. She hung up the phone and laid her head down on the table, the tears in her eyes spilling onto her cheeks. She sighed sharply and ran her fingers through her hair, making it stand up in black spikes. She was jolted out of her thoughts by a pair of large purple paws thumping onto the table near her head. "Irene, paws down," she said automatically, looking up at her pet and wiping her eyes.

"Awwww..." the Eyrie said, putting her paws on the floor and cocking her head to the side. "Not finding any jobs, I suppose," she said.

Zoe nodded, wiping her eyes again. "I don't know what to do. I can't DO anything but bartend, and nobody will hire me for that."

The Eyrie shrugged and nuzzled her owner. "Hey, we have an apartment and we can eat, so we're better off than some, hmm?"

At that, Zoe burst into tears and dropped her head to the table again.

"What did I say?" Irene asked, looking startled.

"We d-don't have any money left in the baannnk. We can eat or stay here but not both. I need a jooob," Zoe said, trying to control her sobs.

"We'll find--" Irene started, but before she could finish her sentence a scarlet blur dove into the room and slammed into Zoe.

"Mum! The new Indiana Jones movie is out, I GOTTA see it. It's sooo cool!" Whooped the ex-blur, now revealed to be a red Kyrii in her teens.

"Ughh... Indiana, you just crushed a few vital organs, I think." Zoe gasped.

"Sowwy," Indy said, moving down to the floor.

A few seconds later, a creamy yellow Nimmo bounced into the room, a fluffy blue ball of feathers cradled in the crook of her arm.

"Sorry Zoe, I couldn't stop the little beast. Did she break anything?" the Nimmo asked.

Zoe shook her head.

"No, MossyRock." Indiana said, sticking her tongue out.

The Nimmo gritted her teeth. "My name is MossRose," she said.

"Fine, ThornRose." Indy chirped.

Mossrose gritted her teeth and patted the little bird she held. As she did so he looked up and blinked cutely. Seeing Zoe, he chirped and started to flap his wings. He jumped out of Mossrose's hands and flew towards his owner... for about thirty seconds before he dropped like a rock. Zoe winced and Indy dove forward to catch him.

"Owch, Terri. You really have to stop that." Zoe said, leaning over to see if he'd hurt himself.

"No. Gonna fly!" Terri said, pouting.

Zoe picked him up, sighing. "Guys, I've called on every job in this paper and haven't found a one to take," she said.

"What, even this one that offers a million NP?" Indy asked. "I mean, I know it looks like a scam but it can't hurt to try..."

Zoe shrugged and sat down again, pulling the paper forwards and dialing another number. On the other end of the line, the phone rang twice before it was picked up.

"Hello?" The woman's voice on the other end managed to hiss even a word with no sibilants.

"Hello, I'm calling about the job in the paper." Zoe said. The voice gave her the crawling creeps, but if it meant she'd still have a place to live...

"Ah, the necklace. We have had very few callss about that. Perhapss we can arrange an interview? Ass ssoon ass possssible?" The woman hissed.

"That would be wonderful. My name is Zoe Roberts, by the way. Would this afternoon be ok?" Zoe asked.

"Oh, forgive me for being sso rude. I am Ophelia Hawthorne. Thiss afternoon would be perfect... jussst perfect. About three, perhapss? The adressss iss 1368 Sspider Lane, Sspooky Woodss." Ophelia hissed.

"Three iss... I mean is fine." Zoe said.

"Goodbye... and good luck," were the last words Ophelia said before she hung up the phone.

Zoe hung the phone up and turned back to her pets. "Well," she said. "She didn't laugh in my face. I have an interview at three."

"Coolies!" Indiana whooped.

Zoe shivered. "Her voice gives me the creeps, though... I have a bad feeling about this."

--


	2. Elevators, Amulets, and Houses, oh my!

Sorry about the strange formatting. x.x Anyway, most of the necklace descriptions were provided by a nice guy on Furcadia. Thank you Arloth! ^.^ On with the story.  
  
Zoe stepped out of her apartment, and walked to the elevator with her pets trailing behind. She pressed the button and waited, checking her image in the mirrored doors for anything unusual. She didn't see anything, just her normal self in jeans , a dark green t-shirt and a jacket. Behind her, however, was another story. She turned from the doors to glare at her pets.   
  
  
"Indy, for heaven's sake stop mocking Mossrose. Just because she needs glasses to read doesn't mean she's going blind. So just STOP." She snapped.  
  
"If she needs em to read, why is she wearing em when she's not reading?" Indy asked, pausing in annoying her sister.  
  
"I've found a book on amulets and necklaces and I plan to read it on the way." Mossrose said calmly, stepping away from Indy. Irene moved between the two, fluffing her feathers.  
  
"It's a perfectly acceptable reason," she said, "and we may even find out how to get the necklace before we know we need to know how to get it."  
  
Indiana and Zoe adopted identical confused expressions.   
  
"Huh?" Zoe said.  
  
"Nevermind." Irene said, shaking her head.  
  
"Geesh. Why did I get adopted by the freak family? A bird that can't fly, a singer wanna-be who can't talk right, and a blind librarian." Indy muttered.  
  
"WHAT did you just say?" Irene growled, taking a step towards Indy.  
"I said you're all freaks!" Indy yelled. Zoe glanced at the elevator doors again, but the elevator still hadn't arrived.  
  
"So are you, you adventure obsessed maniac!" Irene snarled. Zoe crossed her fingers and waved her hand to the side of the girls, trying to catch Terri's eye. He blinked at her for a second, then started to cry.  
  
"Sissers fighting!" He wailed. "Don't fight, pweeese?" Mossrose glared at the two fighting pets.  
  
"Now see what you did? He's not going to stop until you stop." She said.  
  
The two obediently shut up and Mossrose handed Terri to Zoe. The elevator arrived and Zoe shooed her pets in ahead of her.  
  
"Good boy." She whispered to Terri, giving Mossrose a wink.  
  
The elevator ride was silent, but Irene and Indiana kept glancing angrily at each other and Zoe was glad when they stepped out on the ground floor and she was able to get out from between them. She shivered slightly as they stepped outside.  
  
"Brr, it's colder than it was yesterday," she said.  
  
"Doesn't feel like it to me!" Indy said, hopping into a pile of fallen leaves next to the sidewalk.  
  
"YOU have FUR!" Zoe snapped.  
  
"Mossrose doesn't have any and she's not whining." Indiana pointed out.  
  
"Well," Mossrose said, "I was born in cold weather and I'm used to it... Zoe can't get used to the cold."  
  
Zoe simply kept walking, grumbling to herself.  
  
"Want me to check my book and see about necklaces?" Mossrose asked.  
  
"I say do." Irene replied, and Terri nodded.  
  
"Ok... how about a Periapt of Health? It's a charm known to protect against illness and mischief." Mossrose said.  
  
"Sounds a bit... I dunno, minor." Zoe said with a shrug.  
  
Mossrose cast her gaze farther down the page. "You're right. Sold all over Neopia Central, and rather cheap too."  
  
"How about something more... Rare?" Irene suggested.  
  
"Ok..." Mossrose said, flipping through the book. "How about a Medallion of ESP? It allows it's wearer to read the thoughts of anyone within a certain range."  
  
"What range?" Irene asked.  
  
"Doesn't say. Ooh, yikes. The last two known are in the vaults of the Neopian Intelligence Agency."  
  
"If that's the one they want, I say forget it." Zoe said.  
  
Mossrose sighed and begin to flip through the book again. As she did, the group walked into the Spooky Woods and it became almost too dark to read. "Oh, for..."  
  
Indiana dove into her backpack, popping up with a flashlight.   
  
"Here," she said, pitching it to Mossrose.  
  
"GAH!" Mossrose yelped, almost dropping it. "Don't throw that, you idiot."  
  
"I should have just let you try and read in the dark." Indy said.  
  
"I didn't mean it like that... sorry... thank you..." Mossrose said quietly.  
  
"Welcome! Apology accepted!" Indiana said, then bounced a few times. "Well, what else is there?"  
  
"Hmmm... The Ouroborous Amulet is interesting. It's said to extend life and is a known ingredient in various immortality potions... which really only lengthen your life. it's made from an Ouroborous Stone, which is found in the forests on occasion. It says here that the current last known amulet is owned by a woman who tied her life force to it by mistake."  
  
"I wouldn't want to kill anyone..." Zoe said.  
  
"Ok..." Mossrose said. "This one is less rare but still interesting. It's a Necklace of Adaptation, and it allows people to breathe anywhere. Most owners are also owners of underwater pets."  
  
"Oooh..." Zoe said.  
  
"It's not THAT interesting." Indiana said.  
  
"No, look at the pretty house." Zoe said, starry-eyed.  
It was a two-story house that looked surprisingly inviting for something in the Spooky Woods. It was painted white and it even had an attempt to start a flower garden in the front. The fact that the flowers were mostly extremely thorny didn't even bother Zoe as she stared at it. "And it's for rent..."  
  
Mossrose tugged on Zoe's arm. "C'mon, we're going to be late."  
  
It took both Irene and Mossrose to haul Zoe away from the house, and for the rest of the thankfully short walk they had to listen to her babble about the pretty house.  
  
"We're here!" Indiana said, bounding up to the door of the house.  
  
Unlike the house Zoe had fallen in love with, this house had a spooky aura that would have been bad even if it had been in the middle of Faerieland covered in pink fluffy flowers. In the Spooky Woods, it was almost overpowering.  
  
Zoe took a deep breath, stepped up to the door, and knocked. A few second later, it creaked open with an appropriately un-nerving squeal.  
  
"Eep." Irene announced. 


	3. Ophelia is scary.

Author's Note: Yes! I updated! I've been busy with Creative Writing class and all sorts of stuff, but I finally made myself sit down and write. Well, actually, I stayed up all night and had the urge to write at 1 AM, but anyway. This was written while listening to loud music, most of it rock, in German, or both. The club's name was provided by someone on Furcadia, whose name i can't remember because it was 3 AM.   
  
The first thing Zoe noticed about the woman who opened the door was her hair, which flowed down her back in long green waves. The second thing was that her eyes were bright gold.   
  
"Um, hi." Zoe said. "I'm Zoe Roberts..."   
  
"Ah yess." The woman hissed. "I am Ophelia. We sspoke on the phone. Pleasse, come in." Ophelia stepped backwards into the house, Zoe and her pets soon following.   
  
The house was dark and shadowed, and Zoe noticed that there seemed to be no furniture. Cobwebs spread over most of the corners and fixtures, and the house seemed as if it hadn't been used in ages.   
  
When they stepped fully into the house and Ophelia turned to her guests, she seemed almost surprised to find that Zoe had brought her pets along. "And what," she asked, "are the namess of thesse ssweet creaturess?"   
  
Zoe introduced them one by one, and Terri caught Ophelia's eye immediatly. "Oh, ssuch a darling. I could jusst eat him up... Don't you agree, my Midori?" She hissed, looking over Zoe's shoulder.   
  
With a feeling of terrible unease Zoe turned to meet a pair of eyes as gold as Ophelia's. They belonged to a young man who bore an amazing resemblance to Ophelia. He was a few inches taller than Ophelia was, with shorter hair and something slightly different about his eyes.   
  
"Hello..." Zoe squeaked, trying to smile.   
  
Midori gave a slight bow. "Greetingss."   
  
Ophelia licked her purple-painted lips and smiled. "Now that we have all been introduced, sshall we get down to bussiness?" she asked.   
  
Midori nodded and started off down a hall just as cobwebbed and cold as the rest of the house. Zoe nervously followed after, her pets crowding around her and Ophelia bringing up the rear.   
  
Indiana's gaze flicked around nervously and, satisfied that neither Ophelia or Midori would hear her, she leaned over and whispered in Zoe's ear. "Do you think that hair is natural?"   
  
Zoe simply shrugged and followed Midori into the room he'd entered. To her surprise it was much warmer than the rest of the house and was quite well furnished. It also seemed to be a greenhouse. Strange and exotic plants grew from almost everywhere, surrounding the few stone chairs and tables scattered about.   
  
Ophelia entered the room soon after Zoe and headed directly to a group of chairs and one table next to a small pond. "Come, ssit!" she said.   
  
Midori sat down next to Ophelia, and Zoe took a seat in one of the chairs, her pets arranging themselves nearby.   
  
"So." Zoe said.   
  
"We sshould firsst tell you what we want you to retrieve." Midori said. At that point, Ophelia took over the explanation.   
  
"It iss called the Oroborouss amulet." She said, and Mossrose grinned, nudging Indy.   
  
"But," Zoe said, "Um, I thought the only one left of those is owned by a woman who needs it to live. I don't want to kill anyone..."   
  
Ophelia paused, then shook her head. "No, this one iss owned by a vampire. To him it iss jusst a pretty trinket for hiss pet Kougra to wear on sspecial occassionss."   
  
Zoe cocked her head to the side. "But it's a life-lengthening amulet, wouldn't taking it shorten the Kougra's life?"   
  
"Nooo..." Ophelia said, obviously irritated. "The Kougra iss a vampire ass well."   
  
"Oh..." Zoe said, looking sheepish.   
  
"What about where the amulet is?" Mossrose asked.   
  
"It iss in the vampire'ss housse, next door to Club Z." Ophelia replied. "Have you ever been there?"   
  
Zoe shook her head. "No, I haven't. I'm not even sure what it is."   
  
"Well, it iss a sort of club owned by the vampire. I will give you a map telling you where to find it and, of coursse, hiss housse."   
  
"Um," Zoe said. "What's this vampire's name?"   
  
Ophelia's eyes flashed. "Alexander. Alexander Robertss."   
  
Zoe smiled. "Cute name," she said.   
  
Ophelia and Midori glared at her and her smile faded. "So..." she said.   
  
Still looking annoyed, Midori reached into a drawer on the stone table and pulled out a map. Spreading it out, he began to point out the best route to take and how to actually get into the house. Zoe listened patiently until he stopped talking, at which point she bounced to her feet. "Ok, now that I know where to go I can go and get the amulet."   
  
Ophelia looked up, wide-eyed. "You can't go yet, it'ss sstill light out!"   
  
Zoe looked confused. "But, um, don't they sleep during the day?"   
  
Midori smiled widely. "The room with the amulet iss the Kougra'ss. Do you really want to sstep over a ssleeping vampire Kougra to get the amulet?"   
  
"Eep. No." Zoe said.   
  
"And when they wake, they go to the club. Nicce empty housse." Ophelia said, with a grin as wide as Midori's.   
  
"So, um, how about I go get stuff together in case I need it and go to the club after it gets dark?" Zoe asked nervously, somewhat scared of the pair.   
  
"Certainly." Ophelia said. "But perhapss you should leave your petss here, who knowss what would happen if they were caught."   
  
Alarm bells went off in Zoe's head. "No thanks, I think they can take care of themselves. Anyway, we'll be going now. Hopefully we can get the amulet without too much fuss."   
  
"Good luck." Midori said, as Zoe left the room.   
  
The second Zoe found herself alone with her pets, she took off at top speed. When she was outside of the house she hopped up and down, brushing herself off like she was covered in bugs. "Ugh!" she said, "Those two give me the creeps."   
  
"Me too." Indy said, looking behind herself at the house.   
  
Irene cocked her head to the side. "Maybe we shouldn't do this."   
  
Zoe sighed and looked down. "We shouldn't... but we need the money. Come on, let's get home and get ready."   
  
Terri hopped onto her shoulder and the group started down the path leading out of the Spooky Woods.   
  
Behind them, the curtains on the window twitched open and two pairs of golden eyes appeared in the gloom, watching them as they walked away.   
  
"Do you think sshe might be the one, love?" Ophelia asked, smiling at Midori.   
  
"Perhapss..." Midori replied. "Perhapss..." 


End file.
